Trade News

Sonic Automotive Inc. sold a longtime Volvo store in Houston this week, while dealers purchased stores in Kansas, Pennsylvania and New Jersey during the second quarter.

Here's a quick look at the transactions involving domestic-, import- and luxury-brand stores. Two transactions involved groups ranked on Automotive News' top 150 dealership groups.

Swickard Auto Group has entered the popular Texas market, buying a Volvo store in Houston from Sonic, the nation's seventh-largest new-vehicle retailer.

Swickard said Tuesday that it purchased Sonic's Momentum Volvo Cars. The longtime Sonic store has been renamed Volvo Cars Southwest Houston. No broker was used in the transaction.

"We wanted to expand in the Texas marketplace," said Jeff Swickard, dealer principal of the group which also has dealerships in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and California. Swickard, which ranks No. 91 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealers…

Lordstown Motors Corp. is being probed by the U.S. Justice Department in relation to claims that the company exaggerated potential sales of its electric Endurance pickup truck, a person familiar with the matter said.

The probe is related to a previously reported inquiry of Lordstown’s operations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the person, who asked not to be named. The latest inquiry is in its early stages and is being handled by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, the person said.

Lordstown shares slid after The Wall Street Journal first reported on the Justice Department’s activity. The stock closed Friday at $9.23 in New York -- down 11 percent.

The legal scrutiny is the latest in a string of problems for the company, which ousted its founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Burns and his hand-picked finance chief, Julio Rodriguez, after the board concluded that they misstated preorders for the truck. The company is looking for p…

Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. new-vehicle sales fell 27 percent in June, led by another decline in F-Series volume, as the global semiconductor shortage continued to cripple production.

And there's more pain coming: Ford this week announced another wave of plant closures as it waits on sorely needed microchips.

The automaker's June deliveries dropped across the board, save for a few nameplates: The Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs and the Transit Connect van. Ford, however, noted that the sale of its electrified vehicles rose 117 percent in June, driven by the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover.

The Mach-E hit a significant milestone last month, surpassing for the first time sales of the gasoline-powered Mustang pony car by 225 vehicles. Production exceeded that of the gas Mustang for the first time in May.

Despite the down month, Ford's sales in the first half of 2021 rose 4.9 percent compared with the first six months of 2020, amid the coronavirus p…

Tesla Inc. delivered 201,250 cars worldwide in the second quarter, a record for the electric-car maker led by CEO Elon Musk.

While the company doesn’t break out sales by region, business appeared healthy in China. The bulk of the period’s sales were of the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y crossover, which are produced in Shanghai and Fremont, Calif. The Model S sedan and Model X sport utility vehicle are made only in Fremont. The countries are Tesla’s biggest markets.

“Our teams have done an outstanding job navigating through global supply chain and logistics challenges,” Tesla said in a statement Friday.

Quarterly deliveries are one of the most closely watched indicators for Tesla. They underpin its financial results and are widely seen as a barometer of consumer demand for electric vehicles generally because the company is the market leader in battery-powered cars.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected Tesla to deliver 204,160 vehicles. The compa…

Volkswagen's second-quarter U.S. new-vehicle sales rose 72 percent for the best quarterly performance since 1973 behind strong crossover sales as well as the continued rollout of the new ID4 electric crossover.

VW was also helped by the introduction of the Taos small crossover. It produced sales of 4,939 in the quarter.

Audi delivered its best first-half sales ever, as well as its best-ever quarterly sales mark with nearly 67,000 vehicles sold. Brand officials credited the strong performance to high-volume vehicles such as the Q3, Q5 and Q7 crossovers.

Brands: VW, up 72%; Audi, up 92%; Porsche, up 56%

Notable nameplates: VW Atlas, up 160%; Tiguan, up 50%; Jetta, up 27%; Audi Q5, up 133%; Q7, up 126%; A6, up 106%; E-tron, up 42%

Incentives: $3,808 per vehicle in second quarter, down 14% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price: $43,035 in the second quarter, up 6.7% from a yea…

Honda navigated parts shortages and tight inventories in June to post record U.S. monthly sales. The results helped the automaker achieve its best four-month U.S. sales period in company history, the automaker said.

Four Honda brand crossovers generated record monthly deliveries for June. At Acura, the ILX compact sedan posted its best result in five years, and the luxury brand's RDX and MDX crossovers broke the 10,000-vehicle mark combined.

Average transaction prices were up at Honda, and incentives fell.

Brands: Honda, up 34% to 137,238 in June; Acura, up 32% to 15,884Notable nameplates: Honda Civic, up 41%; Accord, up 35%; CR-V, up 38%; HR-V, up 87%; Pilot, up 21%; Acura ILX, up 89%; TLX, up 112%; RDX, up 4%; MDX, up 28%

Incentives: $1,874 per vehicle, down 29% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price: $31,254, up 3.6% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar.

Quote: "While …

Stellantis racked up a 32 percent increase in U.S. second-quarter sales, with every brand but Fiat posting a gain from a year earlier, when the pandemic disrupted volume. While the automaker attributed the rebound to an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as strong consumer demand for several nameplates, it signaled supply disruptions curtailed deliveries.

Retail sales rose 27 percent during the latest quarter, aided by Ram and Jeep volume, according to the automaker.

Brands: Jeep, up 19%; Ram, up 47%; Chrysler, up 36%; Dodge, up 42%; Fiat, down 33%; Alfa Romeo, up 34%

Notable nameplates: Jeep Gladiator, up 53%; Wrangler, up 22%; Cherokee, up 26%; Grand Cherokee, up 14%; Ram pickups, up 40%; ProMaster City, up 132%; ProMaster van, up 129%; Chrysler 300, up 103%; Pacifica, up 20%; Dodge Challenger, up 52%; Charger, up 95%; Durango, up 53%; Fiat 500, down 97%; 500X, up 2%; Alfa Romeo Giulia, up 31%; Spider, down 32%;…

The ongoing global chip shortage led to a 20 percent decrease in Subaru of America deliveries in June to 42,877 vehicles.

Despite this, Subaru's second-quarter U.S. sales gained 18 percent to 160,824.

Subaru, like most major automakers, has been grappling with low inventories caused by production cuts linked to microchip shortages. U.S. dealerships are coping.

"Given our inventory at this time, we were pleased with the June sales results our nimble retailers worked hard to deliver, and we thank them for their efforts," Subaru of America CEO Tom Doll said in a statement.

The Outback was June's top seller, with 16,394 deliveries, increasing 60 percent over June 2020. It accounted for 38 percent of the automaker's sales for the month. For the quarter, Outback sales surged 55 percent to 46,116 vehicles.

Notable nameplates: Outback, up 60%; Forester, down 55%; Crosstrek, down 37%; Ascent, down 15%

Incentives: $1,203 per vehicle, down 31% …

Kia marked an all-time high for June sales and stretched its streak of monthly records to four as deliveries jumped 43 percent amid sharply lower incentive spending.

Through the first half, the Korean brand sold about 115,000 more vehicles than in the pandemic-stricken first six months of 2020, for a 44 percent increase.

Kia said U.S. dealers ended June with a roughly 15-day supply of vehicles and that inventory is expected to be tight for several months. Light trucks accounted for 54 percent of Kia's U.S. sales in the first half, continuing a shift away from passenger cars.

Notable nameplates: Forte, up 83%; K5/Optima, up 51%; Sportage, up 47%; Telluride, up 166%

Incentives: $2,336 per vehicle, down 38% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price: $28,032, up 13% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar.

Quote: "Kia closed the first-half of the year with incredibly strong sales, and this unprecedented momentum will…

LaFontaine Automotive Group said it has purchased Ralph Thayer Automotive's three stores, all of which are in the Detroit suburb of Livonia.

LaFontaine, of Highland, Mich., adds the Hyundai, Mazda and Volkswagen dealerships after the transaction closed Thursday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The stores have been renamed LaFontaine Hyundai of Livonia, LaFontaine Mazda of Livonia and LaFontaine Volkswagen of Livonia.

"We are excited to welcome the employees and customers of Ralph Thayer Automotive into our LaFontaine family," CEO Ryan LaFontaine said in a statement. "This strategic acquisition further strengthens our ability to serve customers in the greater Metro Detroit area –- for sales, service, body shop and parts."

The family-owned and operated Ralph Thayer group dates to 1971.

LaFontaine ranks No. 43 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 19,565 new vehicles in 2020. Read more

Hyundai and its Genesis luxury brand posted record monthly U.S. sales in June on the back of adequate inventories, new and freshened models and strong passenger-car deliveries. And it all came with a sharply lower incentive bill.

For Hyundai, June marked the fourth consecutive month of record monthly sales. The automaker also set records for second-quarter and first-half deliveries, aided by new hybrid versions of the Tucson and Santa Fe crossovers. Genesis reported its best-ever month in June on the recent launches of its first two crossovers, the GV70 and GV80.

Brands: Hyundai, up 45% in June; Genesis nearly tripled sales compared with June 2020.

Notable nameplates: Hyundai Elantra, up 96% in June; Sonata, up 84%; Tucson, up 43%; Palisade, down 27%. The Genesis GV80, a new model, had 1,714 deliveries.

Incentives: Hyundai, $1,722 per vehicle, down 31% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price: Hyundai, $30,415, up 5% fro…

Nissan Motor Co.'s recovery from last year's pandemic doldrums gathered momentum in the first half of the year, though supply chain issues threaten to tap the brakes in the second half.

The automaker's U.S. sales soared 68 percent to 298,148 in the second quarter.

The Nissan division sold 280,282 vehicles in the quarter, up 74 percent from a year earlier. Infiniti volume rose 11 percent to 17,866 vehicles.

Nissan sales and market share have risen every month since the start of the year — with retail deliveries accounting for a growing share of volume, Judy Wheeler, Nissan division vice president of sales and regional operations in the U.S., told Automotive News.

TrueCar estimates that Nissan's retail market share rose to 6.3 percent in the second quarter from 5.6 percent a year earlier.

The focus is on delivering product and features that customers demand, rather than chasing volume, Wheeler said. "Our strategy is working," she said.